Oakland Mill
The Oakland Mill is located in Newberry, South Carolina is located in the Piedmont area of South Carolina is and around forty-five minutes away from the capital of Columbia. The population of Newberry County is 10,277. Of that population, 46% are Men compared to 54% Women. The median age of a Newberry resident is only 33 years compared to 40 overall for South Carolina. The median household income for residents of Newberry was only $28,773, compared to $42,442 for the rest of the state.(City-Data) With the outsourcing of textile jobs to countries like China, textile mills such as the Oakland Mill went out of business and are related to Newberry’s low income related to the state average. With projects such as the Oakland Mill renovation, Newberry is trying to find new sources of jobs to fill in the lack of employment due to outsourcing. In 2008, the Oakland Mill was official shut down and all remaining workers were laid off. The neighborhoods surrounding the mill began to deteriorate as well as the building itself. Local developer Misty West saw an opportunity to renovate the mill for student housing after seeing a similar mill restored in Columbia near USC. The mill was originally built for the public but soon USC students began to rent out rooms and it soon became mostly student housing. West and West Electrical saw how that idea could be applied to Newberry and began to research how it could be done, finding out that there were many federal and state tax incentives for historical buildings that would lower costs. Additionally, West contacted Newberry College and negotiated a deal where 40% of the building would be dedicated to student housing to guarantee instant residents and revenue from the day it opened. The other 60% of the building will eventually be market rate apartments for public rental, as well as possibly a gym for both residents and outside members. (West) West Electrical’s desire for a profitable business venture, Newberry College’s growing need for additional student housing, and assistance from all levels of government helped spawn the renovation project. The restoration of Oakland Mill was accomplished through several different sources of funding. According to the Municipal Association of South Carolina, West Electrical received a $13.2 million bank loan to initially buy and gain rights to the Oakland Mill property. Another 45% percent of the restoration was for paid by tax credits. The National Preservation Act of 1966 allows up to 45% of the investment into historical site restoration be returned to the investor through tax credits, which in this case amounted to $5.7 million.(MASC) Also, investors and corporations can contribute to these projects which are all tax deductible. One of the largest outside corporations to invest in the restoration was the oil company Chevron based out of Texas. (West) An additional 10% can be paid for restorations the same way in South Carolina, which amounted to an additional $3.3 million. (MASC) With so many different funding sources from both private investors and government incentives, the Mayor of Newberry said the renovation did “not going to have an effect on the city’s operating budget.” (Brackett) Many cities and counties throughout the country are facing budget shortfalls and this method of incentivizing businesses and individuals to invest in restoring historical sites is a cost-effective way to improve vibrancy in communities. West Electrical and Newberry College set a goal of completing the renovation by the 2011 fall semester. Before construction could begin, the developers had to acquire the necessary permits to start work. The developers had to petition the National Department of the Interior in Washington, DC for approval to renovate within the guidelines of the National Preservations Act to comply with the tax credit initiative. In addition, they also had to renovate within today’s building codes, such as installing new windows and wheelchair accessibility to meet ADA regulations. (Newberry College) Although the developers and the city had to go through some barriers, for the most part the bureaucracy on all levels of government were beneficial to completion. According to Misty West, they had support from all levels of government from the Federal to Local levels. She also said she had support from every single state representative for this project. (West) The Oakland Mill renovation is a great illustration of how legislation and cooperation from all levels of government can benefit communities around the country. There was minimal political resistance to the idea of renovating the Oakland Mill for residence. According to the managing director Misty West, the majority of city residents and homeowners in the surrounding neighborhoods were overwhelmingly supportive of their idea to renovate the mill. The one reservation they did have was many of the residents close to the mill were afraid of the college aged residents that the building would be marketed towards and the problems that college students can cause, specifically late night noise. West Development helped to ease these concerns by contracting a full time security service to monitor the area and keep disruptions to a minimal. West Electrical also had surveillance cameras installed as well to deter crime in the area.(West) By conducting local meetings with residents of the neighborhood and conveying the measures that they intended to implement, the residents ultimately gave the developers unanimous support to renovate the building. The Oakland Mill incorporated many of the historical aspects of the original building design into the renovation. Not only did incorporating many of the historical aspects of the building add to the character of the building, but some were required to keep the historical tax credit initiatives. For example, the exterior of the building had many existing openings for windows and many windows that were still usable. The National Register required that the exterior keep the original design, so many of the windows required custom glass to be installed.(National Register) Another interesting part of the Oakland Mill is most of the flooring used in the mill was old hardwood recovered from the mill and restored to its original appearance to be reinstalled. This gives the interior much of the same feel of the vintage look while using the hardwood in a modern design. The developers also had to get the building up to ADA regulations by installing wheelchair accessible ramps around the building. Finally, previous parts of the Oakland Mill were left in place for both utility and as a tribute to the past workers. A large industrial elevator shaft was restored and is used to help residents move couches, beds, and other furniture to their rooms. The developers also left the original gate on the side of the building as a tribute to the thousands of workers who passed through it over the years.(Zeeff) By using existing resources, the developers of the Oakland Mill project were able to keep the historical appearance of the building while keeping costs low. There were several objectives the developers and others involved in the renovation set and accomplished during the project. One of the major goals was to complete the restoration by the fall 2011 semester. This goal was met as the student section of the mill was able to be opened and has since filled to capacity of 126 current residents. (Zeeff) In addition to just being able to open for students to move in, the developers and Newberry were able to charge a competitive rate compared to other student housing in Newberry and other Universities. Leases vary from $8,467 to $8,067 a year which would be a monthly rate of $705 to $672 depending on room size and number of roommates. On-campus housing comparable to the Oakland Mill with multiple bathrooms and kitchen areas range from $6,350 to $7,050.(Newberry College) It should also be noted that all rates include all utilities such as electrical, water, and cable which make it more affordable than at first glance. Future vacancies that will open to the public are expected to be around the same price range.(Zeeff) The Oakland Mill renovation met its objectives by meeting their deadline for opening before the semester start and keep rent prices at a competitive rate. In measuring the success of the Oakland Mill restoration, it would be useful to measure subjective measures of success by the opinions of the Mill residents themselves. In a survey of eighteen current residents of the Oakland Mill, there was overwhelming support and satisfaction with the restoration of the Oakland Mill. 94% of residents said that the mill was a good place to live and that the mill added vibrancy to the community. 77% of residents strongly agreed that they would recommend friends to live at the mill and the same number rated the success of the mill renovation as excellent. Other indicators of the mill’s success as rated by the residents such as convenience to campus, activities, and opinion of the mill’s success all received similar support. Many of the survey questions were only one person away from unanimous satisfaction with the mill. The only aspect that residents didn’t have full support on was technology, specifically mentioning weak Wi-Fi signal throughout the building. This is an issue that could be resolved by hiring an outside IT firm to improve Wi-Fi reception by installing additional routers or similar measures. The overall satisfaction of the mill by the residents is almost unanimously all above average as measured by the survey. There are many other measures of the success of the Oakland Mill as well. Last May, the City of Newberry was awarded the South Carolina Community Development Association Award of Excellence for it efforts in the Oakland Mill Neighborhood Revitalization Project. The award of excellence recognizes community development projects which have significantly improved the community and served as catalysts for further improvements to the area’s quality of life. In addition to winning the award, the Assistant Administrator of Newberry Matt DeWitt was elected Vice-President of the South Carolina Community Development Association for his role in assisting the developers in the project.(Pitts) The fact that the Oakland Mill renovation was awarded one of South Carolina’s highest awards for neighborhood development illustrates its’ value it could bring to the Upstate. The Oakland Mill project is a successful example of a neighborhood renovation for several reasons. By utilizing the entrepreneurial ability of private developers along with legislation that incentivized investment in local communities, the Oakland Mill project is a great example of how the private and public sector can work together to better communities. Newberry College was able to accommodate a growing student population for a significantly less cost than building new housing from new materials as well as keep one of the historical landmarks of the town. Due to the growing population of many Upstate universities and the region itself, along with an abundance of abandoned mills in the area, the Oakland Mill renovation project is a great idea for neighborhood revitalization in the Upstate.